Joanne and Ricken clicked the moment they met.

Chrom had refused to let Ricken join the mission to rescue Maribelle, but Ricken ignored him and went to rescue Maribelle himself. Joanne had found Ricken defending a horse-mounted Maribelle from several Plegian fighters, and Joanne rushed to his side and shot lightning into the chest of a myrmidon that got too close.

Once Maribelle, a non-combatant, was safely within the ranks of the Shepherds, Joanne and Ricken stuck by each other's side, Joanne's Thunder ripping through ground units and Ricken's Elwind tearing through flying units.

Since then, the two were inseparable. While reorganizing the tomes in the garrison, they would discuss their favorite books. (They would frequently argue over whether King Dragon was a flat character or a complex one, but both agreed that Prince Horace was a jerk.) They'd laugh at each other when sparring, with their hair windblown or sparking. Joanne would attempt to help Ricken write letters to his family-emphasis on "attempt." Joanne would trap Ricken in a headlock and ruffle his hair, and Ricken would yell at her to let him go and mess up her hair in return once freed. They agonized over their height, shared concerns over battle wounds, and protected each other in combat.

Sometimes, Ricken would bring Joanne into the forest, and the two would sit and play with the animals. They seemed to like Ricken quite a bit, but they were rather wary of Joanne. Ricken had instructed her to hold out an arm and sit still, and a bluebird that had perched on his hat hopped onto her hand.

Ricken had chuckled, keeping his voice low as to not startle the bird. "I think she likes you!"

Something about being with Ricken made Joanne calm. Seeing him happy made her happy; seeing him laugh made her laugh. She had to wonder why. Why did she connect to him so quickly? Perhaps it had something to do with her lost memories? Perhaps it had something to do with "The Mad Mage?"

She had expressed her concerns to Ricken one day, and she found him later that night asleep on top of a book of memory-related spells. She smiled and draped a blanket over his shoulders. A few nights later, when Joanne had poured over some tactics books after the assassination attempt against Emmeryn, Joanne woke up with that same blanket over her shoulders.

Joanne couldn't remember if she had friends. Any people from her previous life had been completely forgotten. Friends, family, and enemies' faces were lost. Still, thinking about friends made Joanne's heart ache with emptiness; she could only interpret that as her being rather lonely in her past life. But why? What had she done that made her so alone? She couldn't imagine that now. The mere thought of being alone after joining the Shepherds made her skin crawl. Was she alone by choice? Or by force...?

Ricken was a very good listener. He was quiet as Joanne talked and was supportive when she stopped. She disclosed to him her worries about her memories, her fears of being a tactician, and her strange reactions to fire. In return, he told her about his collapsed family status, his own fears of constantly being seen as a child, and his feelings towards killing. It was strange, how easy it was for the two to talk to each other. It was like they had known each other forever.

Maybe they had, before Joanne lost her memory. But that didn't matter.

Joanne was glad to have a friend like Ricken.